The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1887-04-10
COL. ROBERT INGERSOlL
ON THE SIDE OF DIR. M'GLYNN
BECAUSE
He Is au Honest Man and Has the
Courage OF His COnVlc-
tiOns.

not only OF Jne physically oppressed,
but OF the mentally oppressed. /
hate those who put lashes on the
body, and / despise those who put
the soul in chains. In other words,
| am in favor of liberty. | do not
wish that any man should be the
slave of his fellow men, or that the
human race should be the slaves of
any god, real or imaginary. Man has
the right to think for himself, to
work for himself, to take care of
himself, to get bread for himself, to
get a home for himself. He has a
hight to his own opinion about God
aud Heaven and hell; the right to
learn any art or mystery or trade; the
right to work for whom he will, for
what he will and when he will. The
world belongs to the human race.
There is to be no war in this coun-
try on religious opinions, except a
war of words-a conflict of thoughts,
of acts; and in that conflict the hosts
OF superstition will go down.
They may not be defeated
today, nor tomorrow, nor next
year, nor during this century,
but they are growing weaker day by
day. This priest, McGlynn, has the
courage to stand up against the Pro-
paganda. What would have been
his fate few years ago? What
would have happened to him in
Spain, in Portugal, in Italy-in any
other country that was Catholic
only a few years ago. Yet he stands
here in New York, he refuses to
obey Gods yicegerent; he freely
gives his mind to an Archbishop; he
holds the Holy lnquisition in con-
tempt. He has done a great thing.
He is undoubtedly an honest man.
He never should have been a Catho-
lie. He has no business in that
church. He has ideas of his own
theories, and seems to be governed
by principles. The Catholic Church
is not his place. If he remains he
must submit, he must kneel in the
humility OF abjectness; he must re-
ceive on the back OF his independ-
ence the lashes of the church. If
he remains he must ask the forgive
ness of slaves for having been a man.
If he refuses to submit the church
will not have him. He will be
driven to take his choice-to
remain member, humiliated,
stunned, or 60 out into the
great, free world citizen of
the Republic, with the rights,
responsibilities and duties of an
American citizen. | believe that
DR.. McGlynn is an honest man, and
that he really believes in the land
theories of Mr.. George. | have no
confidence in his theories, but | have
confidence that he is actuated by the
best aud noblest motives" Are you
to 90 on the lecture platform AGAIN."
VI expect to after awhile. am now
waiting for the church TO catch up.
| got SO far ahead that | began al
most to sympathize with the CLERGY.
They looked so helpless and talked
in such weak, wandering and wob-
bling kind of way that | felt as
though | had been cruel. From the
papers | see that they are busy try
ing to find out who the wife Of Cain
was. ! see that the Rev. DR.. Robin
son, of New York, is now wrestling
with that problem. He begins to be
in doubt whether Adam was the first
man, whether Eve was the first wom-
an; suspects that there were other
races, and that Cain did not marry his
sister, but somebody else's sis
ter, and that the somebody else was
not Gains brother. One can hardly
overestimate the importance of these
questions-they have such a direct
bearing on the progress of the world.
If it should turn out that Adam was
the FIRST man, or that he was not the
first man, something might happen
l am not prepared to say what-but
it might" 1t is a curious kind Of
spectacle to see a few hundred peo-
pie paying few thousand dollars a
year for the purpose of hearing these
great problems discussed: WAS
Adam the first MANI" who was
Gains wife?" Has anyone seen a
map of the land of Nod2" Where
are the four rivers that ran murnur-
ing through the groves of Paradise?"
who was the snake? How did he
walk? What language did he speak,
This turns a church into a kind of
nursery-makes a cradle of each pew,
and gives to each member a rattle
with which he can amuse what he
calls his mind. The great theolo-
gians of Andover-the gentlemen
who wear the brass collars fur
uished by the dead founder
have been disputiug among them
selves as to what is to become of the
heather who fortunately died before
meeting any missionary from that in
stitution. One can almost afford to
be damned hereafter for the sake Of
avoiding the dogmas of Andover
here. Nothing more absurd aud
childish has ever happened-not in
the intellectual, but in the theolog-
ical world. There is no need of the
free thinkers saying anything at
present. The work is being done by
the church members themselves.
They are beginning to ask questions
OF the clergy. They are getting tired
OF the old ideas-tired of the conso-
lations Of eternal pain-tired of
hearing about hell-tired Of the
scheme of redemption-tired of hear.
ing the Bible quoted or talked about
tired OF the Trinity, OF the plenary
inspiration of the barbarous records
of a barbarous people-tired of the
patriarchs and prophets-tired Of
Daniel and the goats with three horns
and the image with the clay feet, and
the little stone that rolled down hill
tired of the mud man and the
ribbed woman--tired of the food of
Noah, Of the astronomy of Joshua the
geology of Moses--tired of Kings and
Chronicles and Lamentations-tired
of the lachrymose Jeremiab-tired
of the moustrous, the malicious and
the miraculous. In short, they are
beginning 70 think. They have
Bowed their uecks to the yoke of ig-
norance aud fear and impudeuce and
superstition until they are weary;